A window on the human body

17 Jun 2002

In a development that could improve medical diagnosis and laser surgery, biomedical engineers at the University of Texas in Austin have made "windows" out of areas of rat and hamster skin.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Ashley J Welch's research team injected glycerol into the rodents to produce the effect. The chemical reduces the scattering of light by the skin, resulting in a temporary window a few millimetres deep.

Glycerol absorbs water from the skin, shrinking the surrounding tissue and altering its light-scattering properties. After about 20 min, water seeps back into the treated area and the transparent skin returns to normal.

Laser treatment is restricted by the normal scattering of light by the skin, but creating a temporary window could enhance the detection of deeper-lying tumours and allow more precise delivery of therapeutic light.

No tests have been made on human skin as yet, and the team will now concentrate on finding the safest agent to create the effect.